By David Graham: 12-19-2022
2022 has definitely been one of my most memorable, and active years in recent memory. Beyond some great fishing, 2022 was a year of rebirth for old projects, and the development of new ones.
The year was really kicked off with a bang, going big into the start of the year trying to polish my methods for land based goliath grouper fishing. This is particularly difficult given I have most often done it completely alone. I managed to put several nice goliaths into shallow water this year though and for that I am grateful.
Josh Dolin and I continued to chip away at a video project that is still in development... but I assure it will be worth the wait. We travelled to Texas in March to link up with Austin Anderson in pursuit of Texas's monster buffalo and carp. This is a trip i'd wanted to take for many years of knowing Austin, but maybe its best it didn't happen until proper camera gear was around! We managed numerous fish over 40 pounds, including one over 50, and even a 60+ pound monster for Austin himself.
As Florida's winter winded down, I had enough time to squeeze in a little shark fishing for myself, and hosted my brother Matt and my Dad from out of state to get in on the action as well.
Springtime was all about my continued effort to dial in monster bowfin. This. for me, is my absolute favorite every year. My roots in fishing began and will continue through this lowly species of fish I have grown to really love leaps and bounds above all others. I managed to catch numerous trophy sized bowfin this year in old areas, and new scouted locations.
Undeniably... my highlight catch of the year - and possibly my entire life - was the chance capture of not one but two gulf sturgeon from the Suwannee River, Fl. This was an especially unprecedented happening... and since the photos went absolutely crazy online, has already led several others on successful campaigns to do the same.
Summer was just a blur of mixing different varieties of fish from fresh, to salt, to brackish... tarpon and snook, bass bowfin and exotics. I thrive in the revolving door of new scenes and different approaches.
Josh and I met up for a two part episode highlighting snakeheads... taking me from Southwest Florida up to the marshes of Virginia where we fished with Grant Alvis for the Northern Snakehead. Josh and I traded that experience for a home turf exploit of South Florida's bullseye snakeheads. In all, the completed video here should provide an unique contrast of the Northern Snakehead pursuits in pristine and wild waters vs. the Bullseye Snakehead in the urbanized settings of South Florida canals. Will definitely make for a very interesting video!
Much of the later part of 2022 has been devoted to the continuing growth and evolution of my personal website. What started as an infrequent submission of blogs under the name 'Boundless Pursuit' in 2011 has been reborn and rekindled into its own identity... Written chronicles and informative articles of my own experiences are now expanding out to highlight the experiences and knowledge of other anglers I know and admire.
Still... in the ever evolving landscape of online information sharing, I have to evolve in my own approaches. In 2023 I will launch my own podcast devoted to multi-species fishing and outdoorsman in general... I think it will really shape up to be something awesome. Josh Dolin and I will launch additional projects including the video series we have so diligently worked on since 2020.
Currently... sitting at the last days of 2022, my passport is being processed and will arrive early in 2023. I am eager to finally take my pursuits beyond the continental US, and to that next level... with eyes on potential adventure to South America, Europe, or Africa... I am very very excited for the years to come!
Here is to another year of growth and continued pursuit of fishing experiences.